So, I got Windows XP a little while ago. Since then, I’ve been getting annoying popups. These aren’t web based- they are more of an XP prompt with the header “Messinger Service”. Various things pop up, from porn to Web cams. It is ONLY text based and has only two options- “Ok” which does nothing, and an X in the top right which also does nothing.
This has been pretty frustrating. Ad Aware does nothing, Norton’s does nothing. Basically you can’t get rid of it.
So, one time a pop up pops up that says something along the lines of “People can send messages into your computer! Go to fightspamwithspam.com to get rid of it!”
So, I go there. It says how this messinger service was put there by MICROSOFT themselves in Win2000, XP and Millenium. You can’t get rid of it, but if you buy their product for $25 yeah yeah. I’m not giving them my money.
Is there ANY way to get rid of this? Is there a freeware to remove it? Or a guide to erase it from the registry? Has anyone else had this problem?
Thanks for starting this thread, Splanky. I just got a new PC with XP and I get these nasty little messages too.
I feel like a babe in the woods with all this weird shit—I’m not used to it. I have been almost exclusively Mac-only for a while (I had an old PC but started using it less and less as it got older and crappier). Some of the Internet-related stuff that is targeted towards Windows users is horrible.
I want to be fair and say that there are plenty of things I like about Windows XP (I don’t want to make this post some sort of “Mac vs. PC” thing) and I don’t regret getting my new PC. But browsing the Internet on a Mac is much more…peaceful.
So, please, someone! Please help Splanky and I out!
Happy to help, Splanky. I had that for a while, too, and even was amused enough to go to said company’s website, and then hied myself off to a search engine and found this handy page.
True, Amp, and I should add an addition to my previous post - Windows XP comes with a built-in firewall (I make no claims about its efficiency), and per Microsoft’s handy guide to disabling messenger spam, they walk you through turning on the existing firewall which will block said spam.
So. You can turn off the service, or you can block the incoming requests.
Thanks, lno! It’s looking good so far. Amp- I have a firewall, but it conflicts with a lot of stuff- online games and whatnot. I try to keep it shut off most of the time.
yosemitebabe- the page lno posted should get rid of Windows Messinger Service, but I also reccomend Ad Aware if you don’t have it already. It will get rid of other popup programs and spyware terrorising your computer.
I remember reading something online about spamming via this Messenger service. The rumor is, tt was developed by MS for messaging on LANs, hence why it is always on by default. A spam company developed a way to exploit it via the Net and (supposidly) they “can’t keep the Spam program in stock, its so popular.”
Damn parasites. The first time I recieved one of those messages after installing XP I looked everywhere for the messaging app that was responsible and promptly disabled it. Haven’t had a problem since.
Ino’s suggestion works. I helped a friend do this Monday. I guess you got tired of looking at ads for diploma mills and such. While you are at it, XP automatically installs a whole bunch of nasty adware. Gator, is one of the clients that will spam you with ads if you let it run, another is Gain. IF you search for “ad” in your pc you will find a whole bunch of files; however, one of them is specifically called adware (in a big file) and another something like adcache. Get rid of all those too.
The really SH*tty thing about the messenger worm (which is what it is) is that normal popup blockers don’t catch it and it comes automatically installed on both XP Home and Professional. It makes me really detest Microsoft that much more.
THANK YOU THANK YOU for reviving this thread!
I just got a new PC with XP and those pop-ups were driving me nuts, I’ll apply all this good talk to my PC tonight!
XP does not install either Gator or Gain. You have to be more careful about your downloads (first rule: if something pops asking to install software, don’t do it).
Try Pop-Up Stopper by Panicware. It’s a free download at www.panicware.com. It works very well, you just have to get used to holding down the control key when you do want a legitimate pop up window.
apologies if this turns into a hijack, but this seemed related to the “connectability” issues you’re fighting now.
try this site, run by computer/internet guru Steve Gibson: There is a lot of VERY good security-related info. in there. The site contains a number of free, small, reliable programs for assessing if you a certain security problem - and each one usually provides a patch/fix. There are also links to other such FREE resources at other sites.
GRC.com home page
As of 4-Feb-03 (it changes often), this page addresses the internet ‘worm’ attack on 25-Jan. And there’s a link to Symantec’s site to download a patch to fix the vulnerability that made this latest attack possible.
“XPdite”
A small test/patch utility for one of XP’s vulnerabilities.
“Unplug & pray” (NO religious/anti-religious connotations…) Another test/patch utility - possibly already fixed if you have installed WinXP Service Pack 1.
The site & related pages are possibly a bit overwhelming for those who are non-technically inclined - but if you can stay with it, he explains pretty thoroughly what a given issue is, and how [patch X] fixes it.
I’ve been using various freeware from that site for years (W’95 and WinXP machines)and have never had ONE problem or conflict. But YMMV, of course…
good luck!
(the more I know my WinTel computer, the more I miss my mac…)
Reality Chuck, it doesn’t install them but it hides at least Gator on your PC when you get it (I had a completely empty PC that I installed the OS on and it was there). It is there but not necessarily installed. It uses ads to support itself and I believe some of the ads that Messenger was using were being taken from there.
I am not 100% sure of Gain, which may have been added from software that I have installed. If anything on my PC gives me a popup box asking me if I would like to install their POS software I always click no.